Cinderella Redux
by horse-crazy girl13
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Because I was totally wasting my life with this. This is basically the exact same thing as my story Cinderella but with better grammar. See: The Fault In Fairytales if you want an actual redux.
1. Chapter 1

**Alrighty guys! As most of you know, this was my first fanfic ever. I was immensely surprised and thankful that it got 1,697 reviews, 383 favs, 410 follows, and OMG 145,000 views! Like, WHAAAT? I had this finished, and started a sequel called Breaking Free, but my heart wasn't into it. That said, I decided to discontinue it and come back to Cinderella in order to tie up loose ends. You may review, but you don't have to. I couldn't ask any more of you guys after all you have given me. I LOVE Y'ALL! Please keep in mind that the first few chapters are going to be nearly identical to the original. Thanks!**

**HAPPY READING!**

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**Annabeth  
**

_"Annabeth, I love you so, so much," my mom whispered to me softly, weakly clutching my hand. My mom looked at me hungrily, knowing that she'd never see me again. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Mom was always a strong person._

_"It's okay, Mommy. Don't cry. I love you, too." I reached out, wanting to take away her sadness, but not knowing what to do. I didn't understand why she was upset._

_"Oh, Annabeth, you don't understand, do you?" She looked at me with sad eyes. "Annie, Mommy is sick. Really sick."_

_My heart melted at the sound of my nickname. No one else in the world could say it with as much love and warmth as she could. I looked at her in confusion. "I know that, Mommy. But the doctors are gonna make you all better, right? When I get sick you just give me some Tylenol. I can ask Daddy to get us some."_

_She chuckled softly. "I'm afraid that won't work, sweetheart. I am too sick for that kind of medicine." She looked at me intently before saying, "Annabeth, I won't be here much longer. I'm so sorry."_

_"What do you mean you won't be here much longer? Where are you going? I can come with you!" Athena laughed softly to herself._

_"Honey, it's not as simple as that."_

_At my puzzled look, she pointed to the windows of the hospital room. I looked over to where she was pointing. It was dark outside with a beautiful full moon._

_"Do you see those stars out there?"_

_I nodded. "They are so shiny and bright."_

_Mom smiled. "They're beautiful tonight, aren't they? Soon I will be up there with those stars."_

_My eyes widened. "You're gonna go to Heaven?"_

_Mom nodded. "You can't come with me to Heaven."_

_"But you can't go! You can't leave me and Daddy! And you promised me that we could go to the zoo on my birthday, and it's only in one week, and I'm turning seven and-"_

_"Shhh..." Mom hugged me tightly. Tears ran down my cheeks. I finally understood that Mom was dying. She gently pulled away and I watched as she reached under her pillow and pulled out a small velvet covered box. She handed it to me._

_My little hands lifted the lid and inside was the most beautiful locket I had ever seen. It was in the shape of a heart. It was silver with a cross and a pink rose that wrapped around the cross. I opened it. Inside on the right, was a picture of my mom holding me. On the left, there was a picture of my mom, my dad, and me. I looked up at Mom._

_"This is for me?" I asked, looking at the locket in wonder. She smiled and nodded. She took the locket and gently placed it around my neck._

_"Now I will be with you forever. I will be in the stars and in your heart."_

_"I don't want you to leave me."_

_"I won't ever leave you. I will always be with you."_

_I nodded. "Did you say good-bye to Daddy?"_

_She nodded sadly. "Will you promise me something?_

_"Anything."_

_"Always remember who you are and don't you change yourself for anyone. You will always be my little angel."_

_"I promise Mommy. I love you."_

_The thing next to her that had been beeping started to beep slower. Mom leaned back into the pillows and looked me in the eyes. Her grey eyes were so full of love as she said, "I love you, too."_

_Then she closed her eyes and the beeping stopped. She let out her final breath. A strange look crossed over her face... Was it relief? The doctor came running in with my dad close behind. I started crying. I knew she was gone. Dad wrapped his arms around me and I looked out the window. And in that moment, time seemed to freeze as a bright shooting star shot clear across the night sky._

* * *

My eyes flew open at the sound of my door crashing open. My heart sped up in alarm, but that alarm quickly turned into anger and annoyance as I saw who it was. My two-step brothers, Bobby and Matthew, came running in. I groaned.

"Annie, Mommy says she wants you downstairs right now to cook us breakfast," Bobby said. A faint rush of fury roared in my ears for a second. Only my mom was allowed to call me Annie. And she wasn't here anymore.

"It's seven o'clock on a Saturday! Why can't she do it?"

The twins grinned like the little brats they are.

"She's busy," Mathew said. "Now hurry up! We're hungry, and if you don't hurry up I'm gonna tell Mommy, and you know what that means."

"Yeah, Mommy won't let you go to Thalia's house!" The twins cackled and ran out of the room. I groaned again. I lived by the belief that the little brats were born to make my life a living hell.

Getting up and walking to the bathroom, I filled a mug of water to relieve my dry throat. Then I looked at my reflection and raised my cup mockingly.

"Cheers to another day in this horrible prison," I mumbled to myself. "Just great."

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**I'm not quite sure if that was better or worse than the original... I tried! I'm actually kinda proud of it, because I managed to correct a LOT of errors (and probably create many more ;)! You might have noticed that I slightly changed the promise that Annabeth's mom made her promise. Wow, that was some bad redundancy. Anywho, I also made Athena not cry this time, because during the rest of the story, it's repeatedly mentioned that Athena was always strong and selfless, and I felt that it was more fitting this way. I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! What a pleasantly HORRIBLE day today was! :) Haha... yeah, when I get over-tired and upset, I go into this creepy cheerful mode. Anywho, quick story time! Me in the car talking to my mom: "So, Mom, how does it feel to know that you are about to have adopted 14 children?" My mom: O.o  
LOL! And have I told you guys how amazing you are? 'Cause y'all ROCK!**

**Happy Reading!**

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**Annabeth**

I sat at the table, eating quietly. Bobby and Matthew sat at the other end of the table, throwing pieces of scrambled egg at each other. I rolled my eyes, annoyed. Hard work gets you nowhere.

"Ugh, guys, what was the point of me making breakfast if you're just gonna throw it at each other?" I snapped.

"Well, the first reason is because it'll aggravate you," Bobby said, like the little freak he was.

"And the second reason is because we know you're the one who's gonna have to clean it up!" Matthew finished for him. Cinderella and her little step-brothers, in the flesh. How nice.

"Besides, it's not like we aren't gonna eat it!" Bobby said.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "And how do you suppose you're going to eat it if it's all over the floor?" Why, oh, why did I ask questions like that? It was just _begging _for a challenge.

"Like this!" they both laughed at once.

I watched as they both leaned down and started scraping their hands on the floor, scooping up some egg. Oh gods. Please don't tell me that they're about to do what I think they're gonna do. They stood up with their hands full of dirty eggs and, right in front of me, shoved it in their mouths. I closed my eyes. In case you didn't know, I was just a little bit sensitive when it comes to germs.

"EW! That's gross! Don't you know how many germs are on there? You guys could get sick." Not that I really cared.

"No, we won't," they said at once. Oh, so now they can read prophecies?

"Well, you could after eating off the floor."

I glanced at them and frowned. They had this creepy look on their faces and a spark of mischievous in their eyes. Uh oh.

"Not if we do this."

And with that, they spit everything out onto the floor. I swallowed down the bile in my throat. They cackled evilly. Then they ran forward and 'accidently' pushed my plate onto the floor. The plate smashed into the floor and broke into a gajillion pieces and the food that was on it splattered everywhere.

"Oops!" they said, not so innocently.

I looked up and gave them my famous evil eye. Even they couldn't help but shrink back from it.

"You little freaks! One day I swear I'm gonna-"

"Annabeth! What in the name of Hades is going on in here?!"

I froze. Oh great. And Her Majesty of Annoyance (aka my step-mother, Sue) enters the room. Absolutely, positively just great.

I watched as Sue took in her surroundings. Her eyes widened, and I saw her face go from confusion, to comprehension, to anger, and back to a blank, calm expression. Too calm. Like, you know how when adults are just annoyed by your laundry not being done or something stupid like that, and they just freak out, because they've already had a terrible, and are just looking for someone to take it out on? Yeah, well, when parents are, like, super angry, because they found out you got suspended from school, they come to pick you up, and when you first get in the car, a creepy and totally scary silence takes place, and your first thought is, _Oh, shiz, I'm dead. _This was one of those "I'm dead" times.

She just stared at me like a wolf about to go for the final kill of the prey. Without taking her eyes off me, Sue said, "Boys, why don't you go call your friends, Conner and Travis, and see if you can hang out together?"

"Yay!" they both cheered. And started running out of the room. They stopped in the doorway, and behind my Sue, so that she couldn't see them, they stuck their tongues out at me. I bit my tongue and resisted the urge to stick mine out at them, but I wasn't _that_ immature.

Instead, I smiled sweetly and gave them my deluxe _I'll kill you later_ look. That got their tongues back in their mouths quick enough. They ran off.

Sue glared at me. I looked back at her with a defiant expression. She wouldn't and couldn't scare me.

"What is the meaning of this?"

I started to speak, but she held her hand up and interrupted me before I even got a chance to speak.

"All I ask of you is to make a nice simple breakfast, and you can't even do that without creating chaos. Do you realize how pathetic that is? Why did you throw food at your brothers and break one of the plates that your father so graciously paid for?"

"I didn't-"

"Hush, child! Let me continue speaking! Breaking one plate my seem like a little thing to you, but that's a good seven dollars - maybe more - down the drain! Your father and I work very hard for every cent that we get."

"You don't-" Oh, how I would have _loved _to point out that she hasn't ever lifted a finger in her life, much less paid a dime for anyone other than herself.

"SILENCE! I will not have you interrupting me and getting an attitude!"

"Ha. You're one to talk," I say before I could stop myself. I slapped a hand over my mouth.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you just say, young lady?"

I straightened and held my head up high. No way was she going to intimidate me. I was not just going to abdicate myself to her. I'm stronger than that.

"I said, 'Ha. You're one to talk.' _You _are the one that keeps interrupting me. _You_ are the one who's getting an attitude with me. _You_ are the one that won't let me explain myself. For you information, it was the twins who made this mess! _They_ were the ones who were throwing their food around. _They _were the ones that broke the plate! _They _were the ones who-"

"ENOUGH! You will never take that tone with me again!"

Then she turned and shouted, "Bobby! Matthew! Come here!"

"Yes, Mommy!"

She turned back to me. "Let's see if you were lying about the twins doing all that, since you're so anxious to blame them!"

I rolled my eyes when she wasn't looking. Wow. Did she really expect the twins to tell the truth? We all know that they're just going to try to save their own sorry butts. Either Sue was completely stupid, completely malevolent, or totally oblivious to how kids act these days. I suspected it was a bit of all three of them.

The little devils came into the dining room. I noticed they had their sweet, innocent faces on.

"Mommy, Travis said that we could go over to their house."

"Okay, but first I need to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Well, Annabeth here says that you were the ones that made this mess and broke the plates." What the heck? Does she have no tact whatsoever? I didn't think it was even possible to be more obvious.

"What? No, we didn't!" Bobby yelled. Stupid little tricksters.

"Annabeth did all of it! It was scary, Mommy! She was mad at us because she had to make us breakfast, so she started throwing food at us! Then, when we tried to hide under the table, she took her plate and threw it at us. She missed, but it was so scary!"

Then the fake tears started. Oh gods. Absolutely pathetic. It was clearly an act. The boys ran into Sue's arms, and she hugged them comfortingly.

"It's okay, boys. I won't let Annabeth hurt you. Go on and get ready, and I'll bring you to your friend's house."

They ran up the stairs and out of sight.

Sue turned on me with fire in her eyes. "How dare you accuse my sons of making this mess?"

"You don't seriously believe them, do you?" I asked incredulously.

"I have no reason not to believe them."

I was about to go on another rant, but I bit my lip to keep myself from digging myself deeper into the hole.

She stepped close to me, and before I could react, slapped me in the face. I stumbled back but didn't fall. It stung, but the shock that she would actually hit me numbed it.

"You will never try a stunt like that again. Blaming your brothers for something they didn't do is just unacceptable! You will definitely _not_ be going over to your friend's house today. You will _not _tell your father that I hit you. What you _will _do is clean this place up, then go to your room and _stay _there. Your dad is at work but you can be sure that when he gets home I will tell him what you did. Now, I will be gone for a few hours while I take the boys to their friend's house and run a few errands, but by the time I get back this room had better be spotless. And if it's not... then let's just say I could do worse things than slap you."

And with that, she walked away, called the boys, and left the house, slamming the door behind her.

I let my guard down, instantly. I hated being weak in front of people, but since there's no one else, I didn't really care.

I slammed my fist into the wall as I broke into tears. I just couldn't understand why Sue and the boys hated me so much. And I wasn't even really close to Dad anymore, ever since he married that awful witch. He was always at work anyway.

I felt my cell phone ring and sighed as I took it out of my pocket. The screen read 'Thalia'. I picked it up the second I saw her name.

Thalia was the only friend I had and the only person who ever understands me. Her dad died a few years ago, and after her mom remarried, she was so angry at her mom. But she likes her step-dad, who is always kind to her and anyone else. We tell each other all of our secrets and feelings.

"Hey, Annie! Where are you?" She was also the only other person who I let call me Annie, however reluctantly that maybe.

"Don't call me Annie! And I'm still in my prison. I can't come over today. I'm sorry."

"What? Why? Wait, have you been crying?"

I groaned. "I'll tell you everything later. I've gotta go."

"Wait!" she cried before I could hang up. "If you can't come to me, then I'll come to you. No exceptions!" she added before I could protest.

I knew there was no point in arguing with her, so I just sighed in defeat and said, "Fine. I'll meet you half way. I need to get out of this house."

I could practically hear her grinning.

"Okay! I'm so happy we live in the same neighborhood!" she said.

"Yeah. Lucky me," I said sarcastically, before hanging up.

I walked out of the house and took a deep breath of fresh winter air.

As I looked around, I was surprised to see a moving van parked in the house next to mine. That house had been up for sale for months, and I didn't know anyone had finally bought it.

I ran out of my driveway and started jogging along the sidewalk, right past the house with the moving van, and ran towards Thalia's house. I was about half way there at our meeting spot. I looked up at the rising sun for about two seconds before I ran smack into a large figure. I fell down on my back, him landing on top of me. My head smacked the ground, and I had just caught a glimpse of the most beautiful sea-green eyes I had ever seen, before a sudden jolt of pain exploded behind my eyes as my head violently struck the ground.

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**Once again, this is nearly the same as the original version, just better written, in my opinion. I thought it would be interesting to make Annabeth being called 'Annie' somewhat of a conflict for her. many stories have her hating the nickname, but I thought it would be interesting for her to have a legitimate reason why. Also, some of you want me to put my original Cinderella back up again... Would that count as duplicate writing? If I can't post it again, I may try making a PDF version. Omg, I am reading Looking For Alaska... BEST BOOK EVER! Well, right after The Fault In Our Stars, which is becoming a movie, by the way. I am furious about it. TFiOS is a very heavy book with so much metaphorical meaning and symbolism and intellectuality in it that simply cannot be portrayed in a movie properly. Plus, it has so much depth, along with the best quotes ever. And now, a bunch of shallow teenagers are going to see it just for the romance, and then they'll go around quoting John Green's brilliant quotes as though they've read the book, and totally understand it. TFiOS is a book that I practically live by, and I think of it as MINE. It's one of the few books I haven't shared with my friends, because it's so personal, so relatable, and so perfectly _mine. _Is that stupid? Sorry for the rant! Thank you guys for the reviews, favs, and follows! (Even though I said you don't have too!) Love you! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Original A/N: 150 VIEWS ON MY FIRST TO CHAPTERS?! Thank you thank you thank you! Thank you to every one who reviews, follows this story, etc. I had the best horseback riding lesson today! :D School starts again in a week. WAHHH! Feel free to look at my profile or PM me! Omg, I got a puppy and guess what his name is? Percy! No, I didn't name him. Anywho, enough of this author's note.  
**

**New A/N: AHHAHA, I was so excited about 150 views back then... Right now I have 693. And also, school starts in about 2 weeks for me. :/ Sorry for not updating yesterday! I actually had a wonderful day! I only got in, like, 3 arguments with my mom, which is SO good compared to how we've been lately. We celebrated my brother's birthday early since he's moving tomorrow (he was supposed to move today.) AND, my sister, who lives three hours away, came to visit with my nephew and we went out to eat and had an amazing time! Anywho, I just finished reading Looking For Alaska... omg omg omg omg omg omg. I think I'm going to die.**

**Happy Reading!**

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**Annabeth**

The first thing I saw as I regained consciousness was a bright white light. My first thought went something like this: _Oh, sh*t, I'm in a hospital. I think I'll just go ahead and die. _But then I felt the ever so relieving cool surface under me that could only be the ground, and I realized the 'white light' was actually the sun. Somewhere above me, I heard two voices bickering.

"We really should call an ambulance! She could have a concussion or something!" said a guy's voice I didn't recognize.

"No! It's only been, like, three minutes! If she doesn't wake up in ten minutes then we'll call them," argued a voice that I knew belonged to Thalia. Another thought that went through my head: _WHAT THE HECK, I COULD BE DEAD IN TEN MINUTES! _Which, of course, I knew wasn't the case, but still.

"She could be _dead _in ten minutes!" protested the other voice.

"I really don't think that's the case," Thalia answered reasonably. Anyone else seeing the creepiness of the situation?

"It could be. But fine, if you won't call now, then you had better call in five," he threatened.

"Seven," Thalia compromised.

I forced my eyes completely open and took in my surroundings. The gray, cloud-filled sky was above me, and one my right, Thalia stood with her arms across her chest, glaring at a boy on my left. Thalia was giving him her _argue-with-me-again-and-see-what-happens-look. _I felt bad for the guy.

"Jeez, Thals, are you trying to make him wet his pants in fright or something?" I managed to tease.

She looked down at me, and smiled, but I could see relief written across her face. "Annie, you're awake! Thank goodness I didn't have to call an ambulance."

We both knew that it would not go well with Sue if I had had to go to a hospital, especially since I wasn't supposed to be out in the first place. I was about to chastise her for calling me 'Annie', but the teenage boy standing next to me spoke up before I could.

The guy asked, "Are you okay?"

All I said was, "Don't. Call. Me. Annie!" Yeah, I just had to get that in there.

Thalia chuckled. "Yup! She's fine!"

I glared at her. "Help me up," I ordered.

"Oooh, somebody's feeling snappy," Thalia teased. The guy held out his hand to help get me up.

"Thank you," I said, taking his hand. "At least _somebody_ has good manners," I said, glaring pointedly at Thalia.

I pulled myself up, and gasped as pain seared across my head. The world swam in front of me and I stumbled. Right into the guy's chest. Suave.

He caught me. "Whoa. Are you sure you're okay?" Seriously? "Whoa," was the most intelligent thing he could say?

I nodded, and regretted it. Pain shot through my head. Again.

I caught a glance of Thalia who was standing behind the guy, trying not to laugh. A quick spout of anger rose in my chest? What the heck was so funny? Why doesn't _she _see how it feels bumping into some dude like a pathetic cliché, being knocked out, and then having to deal with a messed up head. Not fun.

_'What?'_ I mouthed.

'_Later' _she mouthed back.

"You should really see a doctor. You hit your head pretty hard," the boy said. Oh, gosh. So this was one of _those _guys. You know, the kind of nerd who takes everything seriously and overreacts about small things like hits to the head, absolutely _convinced _that they know you're dying when you're pretty darn sure that you, yourself, are not dying? Not that there was anything wrong with that - I was a nerd, too - but still.

Thalia couldn't help herself. She burst into giggles.

"What is so funny?" I demanded, irritated.

She quickly made her face go blank. "Nothing," she said with fake innocence.

I rolled my eyes and turned the green-eyed boy. "I'm fine. I don't need to see a doctor."

Even as I said that, I could feel my head throbbing painfully. He stared at me, and I could tell he didn't believe me, but thank goodness he let it go. The last thing I needed was for some kid to give me more medical advise. Not that "Go see a doctor" is really medical advise, but you get the point. Worse, what if he offered to _drive _me to the hospital, like you see it movies? The thought simply horrified me.

"I've never seen you around before. Are you visiting family or something?" I asked him, successfully but not so smoothly changing the subject.

"No. I'm moving here. Into that house down the street. I was just taking a jog around to explore the neighborhood," he answered. His repeatedly choppy and disjointed sentences bothered me. Not that I don't use choppy sentences, but that doesn't subtract from the fact that I hate them.,

"Oh, cool. I live in the house next to it," I told him.

"That's great! Now I have someone to show me around. I'm Percy," he said, sticking out his hand. Great, now we're practically _buddies_!

"Yeah, um, I'm Annabeth," I said shaking his hand.

Thalia cleared her throat. "And you've already met my friend, Thalia," I continued.

"Are you going to Goode High School?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah, I'm a sophomore," he answered.

"So are we!" Thalia said excitedly. Oh, gosh. She had The Look on her face. She's up to something.

I looked at my watch. It was 9:30, and Sue had left at about 8:45. I knew Sue probably wouldn't be back for another two to three hours, but I wasn't going to take the chance, and I still had to clean up the house. Besides, I might as well stop Thalia from completely forming whatever scheme she had in mind. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Um, Thals, we've gotta go," I said, tapping my watch.

She looked disappointed. Turning to Percy, she said,"Well, I hope to see you around. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask me or Annabeth."

I glared at her. Again. I figured out what she was trying to do and I did not like it.

Percy smiled. "Thanks. I might have to take you up on that offer sometime. Nice meeting you, Annabeth."

Oh, gag. "Uh, yeah, nice meeting you."

He walked away, and I stomped up to Thalia and dragged her down the sidewalk by her hoodie. "What was all that about?!" I demanded, ignoring the growing pain in my head.

"What was what all about?" Thalia said with an innocent expression.

"You know exactly what you're talking about! Don't play the innocent card on me, Thalia Grace!"

"Oooh, you used my full name. Well, now I'm terrified!" she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Thalia!" I yelled at her, exasperated and extremely irritated by how sucky this day was turning out to be.

"Ugh. Fine. You need to lighten up a bit! He's cute."

"Oh, no. No way. I am not going to be caught up in one of your match making schemes!" If there's one thing you should know about Annabeth Chase, it's that I don't do boys. I wasn't trying to play hard to get or anything, and I definitely wasn't sexist, but dating was something that never really interested me.

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me that you don't think he's cute! Besides, it'd be good for you to have other friends besides me!"

"I do have other friends! I have you, Grover, Katie, Bianca, N-"

"That's not the point! You should get out there and try to be friendly to other people. Percy is hot _and_ a gentlemen. It's a two in one package deal!"

"Okay, hold up. We talked to him for like what? Five minutes? And I'm just not interested in dating! That's the last thing on my mind right now."

"Ugh! Will you at least make an attempt to be nice to him, though?"

"Are you saying that I'm not a very nice person?"

"Well, you're not exactly a ray of sunshine around this time of year."

I looked down. I knew exactly what she was talking about. It was two weeks before my birthday. One week before the anniversary of my mother's death. I knew that I was always snappy around this time, and I usually withdrew myself from everyone except for Thalia.

We reached my house.

"Look, all I'm saying, is that you should try to open up to more people. I'm sure it's hard for him to move to a new place right before Christmas. And I get the feeling that he's having some problems at home," Thalia said, walking into the house.

"Stalker," I muttered, but I knew that Thalia was right. She always is. She has this uncanny ability to be able to look someone in the eyes and know their feelings. It's creepy. She had been the only one who was able to see past the fake smiles that I gave everyone. To know that I was in pain. And she could read just about anyone like a book.

I sighed. "Great. Now you have me curious about his life. Do you know how creepy that sounds?!"

Thalia laughed. She stopped short when she saw the mess.

"Jeez, what the heck happened here?"

"Those little brats are what happened." I told her about everything that had happened earlier, including the slap.

"She did WHAT?!"

"Yeah, stinks right? Oh, well, there's nothing I can really do about it."

"Annie, you should really tell someone!"

"Don't call me that!"

She looked at me as if she knew I was a hopeless case and just let the subject drop. She started going around the room and helping me clean up the place while we talked about the stupid math project our teacher, Mrs. Dodds, gave us. After the place was spotless, we talked for a little more, but then she had to leave so I just went to my room and sulked.

I sat down on my bed and took the locket that my mom gave me off. I opened it and just stared at the picture of what my family used to be. Images of me and my mom flashed through my still throbbing head, and even after so many years, the memories brought tears to my eyes. I wondered if there was anyone who would ever be able to truly help me get rid of the pain. And for some reason, the image of a set of stunning sea-green eyes passed through my brain right before I closed my eyes and willed all thoughts to leave my mind.

* * *

**Wow, this was definitely one of my worst chapters. Even from the beginning, I hated it. But the parts I did correct, I'm a little proud of. Doing this has been very good for me. As you've probably gathered, I'm going through a super huge obsession with my favorite author in the universe (sorry, Rick!), John Green. For any of you who have read his books, have y'all noticed that **TheLostRelic **writes much like him? I think it's amazing! It's something I noticed from the first time I read TFiOS.**

Something that I've been thinking a lot about: In Looking for Alaska by - hey, look at that! - John Green, there's this question that I've thought a lot about. "What is your cause for hope?"

My answer: Hope is something you hold on to. It's believing that somehow, someway, things are going to get change and get better. I think that we, as humans, hope, because we can't bear not to. We can't bear not to hold on to something that may or may not be there or happen, because if we don't hope, then all is as good as lost. Because when we suffer, we can't stand to think that there's a possibility that the hurt won't ever end.

***shrugs* I'm sure you guys have different opinions, but that's how I see it. Sorry, I just wanted to share that with you, since it's been plaguing my mind since I finished the book. :) Review if you want - they're always appreciated - but you don't have to! Thanks for the reviews, follows, favs, and views! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh my gosh, I have missed you guys SO much! My computer cord is broken so I haven't been able to use my laptop to update. I am SOOO sorry! I'm at the library right now (see how dedicated I am?), so I won't have any time to update any of my other stories (even though I really want to). I MISS MY MINI LAPTOP! These computer keys are all ChUnKy! Also, I MAY be writing a oneshot with Blondie B. Happy when I'm able to get my computer up and running again. Anywho, I'll go ahead and get to the chapter! Thank you guys! And sorry again for making you wait!**

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**Percy**

As I walked away from the two girls, I couldn't get the image of the startling (and slightly scary) grey eyes out of my head. I could see that there was some sort of trapped emotion inside of them, but I couldn't figure out what. Not to mention she seemed to have some sort of things against guys.

Thalia seemed pretty cool. She was kinda terrifying, but other than that, it seemed like if you got on her good side, she's not so bad. I couldn't understand why she was so insistent about _not_ calling the ambulance, though. It's true that we didn't really end up having to, but still... there had to be some reason behind it. Plus, I thought her protectiveness of Annabeth was quite sweet.

I walked back to my new house, and greeted my mom, Sally Jackson. She was in the kitchen making cookies - blue cookies.

"Hi, Mom!"

"Hey, Percy," she said walking over and giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Did you have a nice walk? Do you like the neighborhood?" Oh, mom. She always put herself before others. It was one of the things I loved most about her.

"Uh, yeah, it was pretty good. I bumped in to two girls who are going to the same school as me. Literally. They're in the same grade, too."

"That's good. Are they cute?" A horrified look crossed my face. In my opinion, Moms are like heaven and hell. They're either totally awesome or completely embarrassing and/or very angry. This was definitely one of those embarrassing times.

"Mom!"

"Just givin' you a hard time. What are you going to do for the rest of today?"

I shrugged. "I think I'll just go unload things from the truck."

"Okay, then, while the cookies are baking, I'll help you unload."

We went out and started bringing more boxes into the house. After about half hour, another van pulled up with more boxes and furniture. The truck driver asked my mom to sign a paper, and I noticed her flinch when he stuck out the pen for her to take. My heart clenched with guilt and pain for her.

Before we moved here, Mom's now ex-husband, Gabe Ugliano, had abused her a lot. She finally got up the nerve to get a divorce, and we moved here to get a fresh start. Plus, there was a great writing school she could go to. She'd always dreamed of being a writer, but Gabe's always held her back. Sadly, Gabe had made her lose her trust in most men. It was understandable, but I still felt bad for Mom. Yeah, I'm a real Mama's boy.

We finished unloading the van that we were originally unloading, and before we started the van that just arrived, we went inside to eat blue chocolate chip cookies. Now, most people might say that it's very unmanly for a teenage boy to eat his mother's blue chocolate chip cookies, but me my mom and I have been through a lot together and I would do absolutely anything to make her feel happy.

I grabbed a cookie off the tray and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth at once. I chewed and quickly swallowed before saying, "Mmm! Mom, those must be your best batch yet!"

Sally laughed. "You say that every time!"

"Then it must be true every time!" I said, popping another cookie into my mouth.

She laughed again. The sound was like music in my ears. Back when she was still married to that fat pig, I hardly ever saw her smile, much less laugh.

"So, Percy, how do you feel about starting at your new school on Monday?"

"Mom, I should really stay and help you unpack." I wasn't trying to get out of going to school. I really just wanted to help her. Not that getting out of school wasn't a positive advantage...

"That's okay. I wasn't planning on doing much unpacking on Monday, anyway. I thought I'd go and turn in the rest of my papers for the writing school."

"If you're sure..." However, I was pleased that she was turning in the papers. After her life being in a monotonous and painful standstill for so long, it was nice to see her getting somewhere and trying to do something she really enjoyed.

"We can do some unpacking when you get home from school. Besides, you should go ahead and try to make some friends."

We finished eating and went out to unload some more things from the van. I was just about to carry in my fourth box when I heard a door open then close. I looked over to the house next to me, and I saw the girl, Thalia I think was her name, walk out. She caught me staring at her and waved.

"Hi! Again," she said.

I nodded and waved. Then she starting running down the street. Wait, no. She wasn't running. She was _skipping_. Her punkness mixed with the girl-y-ness of her skipping was hard for my brain to comprehend. Strange girl.

My mom chuckled. "Who was that?"

"Uh, some girl named Thalia. I met her when I was going around the neighborhood."

"Strange girl," Mom commented.

I burst out laughing. "You read my mind."

I brought the box in, and since it was labeled 'Percy', I brought it up to my room.

I opened the box and dumped everything out. There were some clothes and stuff, but at the bottom of the box was a photo album with pictures of me when I was very little. I hadn't looked through this thing in such a long time, I'd forgotten that I even had it. Mom must have packed it for me.

I opened it to the first page.

The very first picture was of my mom in the hospital after she had just had me. She held me in her arms, her eyes full of love. After that, there were a few more pictures of just me and my mom in the hospital. When I turned to another page, my heart nearly stopped.

The picture was of me, my mom, and my dad. Not Gabe, but my real dad. My father had died a few years ago when he went out on his boat. A sudden storm hit him and he never came back.

Anyway, the picture showed me standing up for my first time. My parents looked so proud of me. Mom looked so full of happiness.

The next page had pictures of the first time my parents had ever brought me to the beach. My green eyes were sparkling in the sunlight as I looked at the huge mass of water with wonder. I'd always been awed by the danger and gentleness and unrestrained power held by something so big.

The rest of the pictures were either with me and my parents at the beach, the lake, or pool. I used to love water and swimming. Until the ocean stole my father and ruined my life.

I shut the book closed and laid back on the floor. I stared up at the ceiling and wondered what my life would be like right now if dad was still here. Better than this, that's for sure.

I looked at the mirror that was attached to the wall and saw pain in my eyes. An image of stormy gray eyes flashed in my mind, and suddenly I figured out what had been trapped inside of them. Pain. So much sadness that keeps building up everyday. Annabeth had lost something important to her. No,some_one._ And I would know, because what I saw in her eyes is exactly what I see when I look in the mirror.

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**Omg, I'm going to be kicked off the computer in five minutes, so I'm going to hurry up and post this chapter. I didn't make much amends, because I was in such a huge rush. Plus, there's, like, people here and I am an /extremely/ self-conscious person, so every time someone so much as looks my way, I go to the Google page. I'm proud of FanFiction and all, but this is just /weird/. Sorry again for not updating much. Life itself has just been a hassle, especially getting ready for the kid's we're adopting. OH, SCHOOL STARTS IN ONE WEEK FOR ME! NOOOOO! Sorry for the terrible quality of this chapter. I'll try to come to the library again tomorrow. I LOVE YOU GUYS! Thanks for so many reviews, even though you didn't have to give them to me!**

**Also, as a lot of you might have seen, I re-posted the original Cinderella, re-naming this one Cinderella Redux. Thanks guys! Love Always,**

**~HCG13**


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